Contemporary Issues of International Law

Experts on international law and responsibility will take part in a special session organized by the Forum of Ethics and Responsibilities on the topic during the World Congress of International Law, 9-11 January 2015.

The World Congress of International Law (WCIL), convened by the Indian Society on International Law (ISIL) will take place from 9-11 January 2015. During this Congress there will be a special session on "International Law and Responsibility", organised by ISIL and the Forum of Ethics and Responsibilities.

Experts on international law and responsibility will take part in a special session on the topic during the World Congress. To give some idea of what is understood by the relationship between international law and responsibility , it could be said that developments in international regulations, while perhaps necessary, must be grounded in values that:

are truly universal;

fit to deal with the issue of management of interdependencies;

are able to orient our behaviours, and ensure technological developments are always aimed towards the service of humanity;

reflect the new impact we as humans can have on our shared destiny; and

strengthen human rights.

One unique value that meets all of these criteria is responsibility. Some philosophers argue that the 20th century was the century of rights, and that 21st will be the century of responsibilities. Some jurists describe responsibility as the ‘hidden face of rights’.

As such responsibility should be a key guiding value in the development of international law and regulations in the near future. Hence the mutual interest of ISIL and the Ethics and Responsibility Forum to co-organise during WCIL a special session on this topic, with a special focus on the climate change issue.

Progress for the Rights and Responsibilities Collective, South Asia. Participation in the People’s SAARC meeting: the Relevance of Responsibility on Social Charter of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.